Unknown

4

I wake up to my head throbbing. I sit up, rubbing my eyes. I don't remember going to sleep. I throw my legs over the side of my bed, wincing as pain slices through my head. I put on some black jeans and a red shirt that fits to me, showing my abs.

No, I don't dress like this to show off my muscles.

I grab my backpack and phone and walk down the stairs. I walk to the kitchen grab some toast my mother has made. "Cali isn't feeling well, so when you come back from school, can you pick up some Tylenol?" She says, not taking her eyes off of the scrambled eggs she's making.

"Yeah, sure," I say as I walk out of the door eating the toast. Luckily my dad leaves early in the morning. My headache must be from him throwing me off the stairs yesterday. Lost in thought, I slip on the steps covered in ice, dropping my toast.

"Aw, crap!" I yell. My headache worsens as I pick up the toast and chuck it into the street. "You okay there?" I hear a voice call from the sidewalk. I look to see a boy a couple of inches taller than me with rust-red hair staring at me. "Yeah," I say as I walk past him, avoiding eye contact. He quickly catches up to me. "I'm Eli." He says, extending his hand. "I'm late for school," I say, ignoring his hand.

"Nah, Principle Rogers won't get onto you if you're late once." He says casually. I turn to him, confused. "We go to the same school." He smirks. Why do weird people always come to me? I roll my eyes and continue in the direction of the school. "You have a nice house. Are you rich?" He asks. "No," I respond. "You have to be, you have the nicest house in town." "It's not my house." 

"What?" He asks. "It's my parents' house," I say, sighing. "Why are you dressed so lightly? It's freezing out." He shivers. "I don't know. It's not that cold." I say, last night coming to mind. "So, do you workout?" He asks. I turn around to face him, to see him smirking again. "Are you the guy that called me yesterday after school?" I ask. This is weird.

"What?" He tilts his head. I sigh again. "Nothing." I start walking again. He jogs to my side, staying quiet. This guy is too suspicious. We silently walk to school.

**We walk up the cement steps, still remaining quiet. He opens the door and gestures for me to walk in. I stare at him and sigh as I walk inside. He smirks and I ignore him. "You know I'm in your class, right?" He says finally. I shrug as I feel more uncomfortable. Suddenly he's right in front of me, too close for comfort. "You know, for someone that doesn't get cold, your face is awful red." He smirks, acting dumb. "Don't be stupid. I hate that stupid smirk." I say. "What? You don't like my smile? How mean." He says, face unchanging. I push past him, ignoring his dumb comments. 

"What? You never heard of kindness?" He says loudly, making a few people in the nearly empty hallways turn to look. I turn to him. "No. Now, I'm late, and I don't know you, so goodbye." I say as I start walking down the hallway fast. Suddenly, he's right in front of me again, blocking the path again. "Wanna ditch?" He says, his eyes glinting. "You've heard all the same stuff before right?" The last question catches my attention. "What?" I ask, confused. How does he know that? 

"I already know you've moved schools like a ton." He says, backing up a little. "How-" I say and he covers my mouth. "Do you want to ditch?" He says slowly. My phone pings and I swat his hand away. I pull my phone out, hiding it from the security camera. 'You have a new mission when you get home. On your desk.' From Boss. I stare at the strange boy.

What if this is a trap? What if he is my boss? What if he works for him too? 

Questions race through my mind. "Hello? Kei? You there?" He waves his hand in front of my face. "Yeah, sure, I'll ditch with you," I say, copying his smirk. He lights up. "Really? I don't really have any friends-" I hold up my hand. "I'm not your friend. But you're right. I have heard the same thing every single time." 

His face drops a little. I smirk. "Let's go. This way." He says, gesturing to an exit. I nod as I follow him out the door.